


To Belong Somewhere, to Someone

by AnubisWrites



Series: Ramayana Musings [1]
Category: Hindu Religions & Lore, Ramayana - Valmiki
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Missing Scene, One Shot, Romantic Fluff, i will give them the happiness i was deprived of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:42:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27324451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnubisWrites/pseuds/AnubisWrites
Summary: Loving someone is much easier when you're both walking through it together, hand in hand.
Relationships: Rama/Sita (Ramayana)
Series: Ramayana Musings [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1994923
Comments: 8
Kudos: 9





	To Belong Somewhere, to Someone

The sound of a nearby waterfall gently roused him from his sleep. The forest woke up with a rustling of leaves as the sun rose and birds flew in the air, chirping and searching for food.

Still half - asleep, Ram started to sit up, "Mpfff-", when an arm pinned him back down. He turned to look at his captor, and smiled at the sight of his beloved.

Sita was still sleeping, and her calm waking hours were contrasted by her carefree form in slumber. Hair flown in every direction, clothes a bit rumpled, a slight pout on her face at a dream she was having; each made her even more beautiful and drew him closer and closer.

The arm that she has put over and around him reminded him of her protectiveness, of how she always guides him to virtues he contemplates over, but is too hesitant to put into words for fear of being wrong.

Her smile shone like the gentle sunlight that was pouring in the cottage right now. It warms the hearts of everyone around her and gives them a sense of peace. When Sita smiles at him, he feels his face heat up with the same sweet love he had felt years ago at their swayamvar, and which he still felt now, tenfold.

Her doe-eyes have always attracted Ram the most. 

The twinkle in them when she teased the princes of Ayodhya with her sisters, all 8 of them partaking joyously in a friendly rivalry between sibling and spouse. 

The spark in them that empowered her to make the choice to follow him to the forest. When his own father had banished him, she held his hand and stayed by his side, not willing to listen to anyone who asked her to stay away from her beloved. 

Their softness as she cared for the animals near their cottage. Their wonder as she looked over the landscape around them. Their respect as she talked to the wives of the ascetics living nearby.

He moved a strand of hair away from her eyes and cupped her cheek gently. His Sita, beautiful and ethereal in all the ways he knew her. He kissed her forehead and held her closer, drifting off to sleep for just a few more moments as his mind repeated how he was hers, and she was his.

* * *

"Hidden or not, here I come!", Ram heard Sita shout as he hid behind a tree. They were playing a game of hide-and-seek to pass some time, and he listened carefully for any rustling leaves. 

Suddenly, he whipped around to find a fawn at his feet. "How- Sita, this is unfair!", he thought, as he pleaded with the fawn to leave him alone in silent gestures. The fawn only looked back at him with wide-eyed confusion. And then, just as suddenly as it had come, it scurried away to its own business as Ram breathed a sigh of relief. 

He pinned himself closer to the tree, his back ramrod straight, and tried to listen to the leaves again. 

A hand tapped on his shoulder and he groaned. He turned with slumped shoulders to accept his defeat to - no one. There was no one there. Then who-

"BOOO!!!", shouted Sita from behind him, and he jumped out of his skin. So much for grace and composure. He turned to find Sita running towards the cottage, laughing loudly at her victory. "So, this is what you learnt at the gurukul! Some amazing stealth skills for sure!", she shouted, out of breath with all the running and laughing. 

"Oh no you didn't!" He laughed and ran after her. Quickly catching up, he wrapped both arms around her and leaned back against a tree. She tried to control her breathing but could not stop giggling as he put his head on her shoulder and enveloped her. 

She leaned her head against his and asked, "Do you plan to not even hide the next time? I seem to find you sooner and sooner." Ram bumped his head against hers in mock affront and answered, "You'll see. Next time I'll hide myself so deep in the forest you'll never be able to find me."

As soon as the words left his lips, her laughter stopped, and he realised what he had said. After a moment of silence, she held his hands in hers, tightly, and whispered, "Never say that again. Never." She turned around and looked at him. Her face was so close, he could see all the myriad of emotions through her mind in her eyes alone. He whispered back, "Never, my love."

* * *

Sita was about to continue debating her point about something when she noticed that he had already fallen asleep. She yawned too. It was getting late.

Ram moved the arm under her head just a bit, and she looked up at him. His face was illuminated with the gentle glow of the full moon. "Beautiful", she thought, for he was.

Behind the long lashes, his lotus-eyes had won over many hearts, hers included. They were the still waters when he tried to control his brothers in front of the princesses of Mithila. His eyes held amusement at all the antics, hidden away when the role of an elder brother came forward, but never hidden from her.

They were a rumbling river at the beginning of the exile. Quiet and graceful in front of his loved ones as he took his father's last decree in stride, and a storm of betrayal and grief when the three of them were all alone in the forest.

They were the eyes that shed tears. He thought she wouldn't notice him discreetly wiping away at his eyes when she came back from tending to an animal, or how he always seemed to have 'something' in his eyes when she looked over at him while cooking food. 

His embarrassed smile at those moments always filled her with joy. His smile was like moonlight, gentle and soothing, reassuring everyone who saw him. His smiles for her brimmed with love and care, and she was swooped off her feet every time. 

The arm underneath her head and around her protected her from any harm, no matter how big or small. It reminded her of how he supported her wholeheartedly.

She held him around his waist and looked at him. Her Ram, beautiful and ethereal in all the ways she knew him. Pulling him closer, she kissed his neck. And as she fell asleep for the day, her mind kept repeated how she was his, and he was hers. 

**Author's Note:**

> This is form of Self Care after an essay, or rather a book of essays, left me heartbroken. "Lost Loves : Exploring Ram's Anguish" by Arshia Sattar is a gem and it'll own my mind for weeks now.   
> You can find this on my tumblr @amandaanubis too, and hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I loved writing it!


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